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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419873">Audentes Fortuna Juvat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustTheStars/pseuds/JustTheStars'>JustTheStars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Yautja/Human [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors, Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4, Predator Original Series (1987-1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A Cyborg, Alien/Human Relationships, Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, Nora is a Synth, Part-Synth, Soldier Nora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:22:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,069</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustTheStars/pseuds/JustTheStars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Nora's world had ended first with the bang of the nuke, hellfire in her eyes as she was lowered into the ground. The old world, the fairytale she'd imagined in the quaint residence of their home as a loving family, was extinguished within the blink of an eye ..."</p><p>She is born anew in another place. Devastion has not laid waste here. And yet, Monstrosities stalk her. So perhaps It wasn't so different here after all.</p><p>It's nothing she can't handle.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Predator/Human, Yautja (Predator)/Original Female Character(s), Yautja/Human</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Yautja/Human [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! I'm Stars! This is my first fic here :)</p><p>Buckle up, guys, you're in for a ride!</p><p>I had this idea for an Aliens vs. Predator/Fallout Fusion, and I decided to just go for it. I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <strong>Prologue.</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Nora's world had ended first with the bang of the nuke, hellfire in her eyes as she was lowered into the ground. The old world, the fairytale she'd imagined in the quaint residence of their home as a loving family, was extinguished within the blink of an eye.</p><p>Her world ended second with the bang of the gun, staring from the cold confines of a cryopod - an unwitting observer to the grisly scene of her husband's murder and their son's abduction. She wouldn't learn the name of her husband's killer and son's kidnapper until later - Kellogg. Cold eyes. Cold voice. Cold everything. Even where she'd first met him - no, no, where she had first seen him, she didn't properly meet him until Fort Hagen - had been cold. But, hell, there was no need for details, was there? Even Fort Hagen had been cold.</p><p>It ended third - and last - with the bang of her own gun against Shaun's forehead. Her poor baby boy. This was the most painful end by far, demolishing the little she'd managed to tentatively build anew from the ashes of the old, from the hope swelling with each step she got closer to her son - she knew then that there was no going back, in every sense of the word. There would be no miraculous reunion. There would be no growing up, no living together. Even with the state of the world, she would have been happy to be with her son. But there was no reset button and she couldn't get back what she had lost.</p><p>Nora was born once more with the end of that world, the one she'd seen crumble three times before.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One: Old World Blues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nora's only memory, before the end.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A little background info on Nora.</p><p>It might be just a little longer before we get to the Yautjas, but don't worry! We'll get there soon enough!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"><strong>Part One. Ante Mortem </strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Chapter One: Old World Blues</strong> </em>
</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Fire still burned behind her eyelids as the gate lifted and they emerged into the safety of the vault. She knew the image of it would stay with her forever. The shaking of the ground. The loud sounds of mass hysteria.</p><p>It was like she was stuck in that moment. Like she was a ghost and she really had perished in the nuclear fire still blazing in her mind. </p><p>The only thing grounding her to reality was Nate. He shook her shoulder lightly and called her name and Nora snapped out of her thoughts. They had made their way up a flight of stairs. She hadn't noticed. </p><p>She looked up.</p><p>
  <em> "Welcome home" </em>
</p><p>Nora couldn't peel her eyes off of those two words, as simple and insignificant as they might have been in any other situation. This wasn't any other situation. It was here and now, right in front of her, and those two little words above her felt like they were taunting her for what she could no longer have, looming over her, tall and proud as can be below the inscribed Vault 111 as she made her way with her husband and their son through the entryway. Like hell this metal prison could be anything like a home, it could never measure up to her true home, the one she and Nate - and precious baby Shaun - had before those bastards dropped bombs on their heads. It was laughable. Fake, to put it plain and simple. Who knew those little words - "welcome home," of all things - could inspire such anger in her? Anger at the world and at those who ended it. They were bastards, the lot of them. The military, Vault-Tec, the commies. Everyone. Both sides of this blasted war, and everyone who profited from it. She didn't care that they remained faceless in her mind. She didn't care who they might have been, or why they did what they did. All she cared about was the consequences of their actions and that they led her here now, stuck in this glorified jail, with millions of others dead, and those damned words dangling over her head.</p><p>She had fought for this? They all had?</p><p>She'd think it was funny - look how ironic it was! - if she wasn't trying so hard to keep from crying. What was the point in fighting a war over something if you were just going to destroy it in the process?</p><p>The only thing stopping her from bursting into tears was the comforting presence of her family by her side as they all made their way deeper into the vault. </p><p>She had to stay strong for them.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>The only memory that Nora had from before when she woke in Vault 111, 200 years after the end of the world, was the day the bombs dropped. She didn't have any others. She tried and tried and tried to remember something - anything - else, but nothing ever came of it. It was all that was left of her and clear as the day it happened.</p><p>She only had an inkling of who she was through that memory. She was a soldier and she was caring for her baby - Shaun, his name was Shaun, she reminded herself - with her husband Nate while she was on leave from the military. They were going to go to the park later that day. They had a Mr. Handy named Codsworth and he was surprisingly good with the baby. Halloween was coming up and they had the perfect little costume for Shaun; he was so adorable in it, Mama's perfect little angel. Everything was picture perfect - </p><p>then the bombs dropped and-</p><p><em>Armageddon</em>.</p><p>Sometimes she wished that she could've forgotten Nate being shot by that man (that awful and cold<em>, cold </em> man). But if she forgot that, what else would she have of him? Would she even remember Shaun?</p><p>No, she had to remember.</p><p>She needed to find Shaun.</p><p>Her poor baby boy needed her, and in her mind the memory of Nate screamed for vengeance.</p><p>She screamed with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two: Valentine's Detective Agency</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Continuing Nora's background info! She's almost to Shaun!</p><p>We're getting closer to the start of the Predator side of things :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Part One. Ante Mortem</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Chapter Two: Valentine's Detective Agency</strong> </em>
</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>The overhead lights flickered above Nora, dim and irregular as they swayed with the motion of the wind as she opened the door. It was dark outside and the bulbs didn't do much of anything to stave off the shadows in the corners of the cramped, put-together shack of Valentine's Detective Agency. It was concrete and wood thrown together sloppily, a mere impression of a real building, yet somehow she felt comfortable here. The neon light from the front shone through the cracks and gaps of the door as it closed behind her with a thud, a hot pink splash in the dullness of Diamond City's night. Nick Valentine's eyes shone just as bright, yellow and curious as they looked upon her.</p><p>His voice was low and calm as he spoke, and he sent a small smile her way, "Ah, my knight in shining armour has returned!"</p><p>Nora gave a hesitant smile back and moved to stand in front of his desk as he took a minute pause, lips pursed as seriousness took over his countenance. He sighed. Reached into his pockets and pulled out a lighter and pack of cigs, put one of the cigarettes into his mouth, then lit the end of it with a '<em>chk</em>' and a tiny, curling flame. The fire glowed, his face coloured red from the embers.</p><p>Nick had an intent look focused on her as she stopped next to the empty chair and he motioned for her to sit. She did. "Now the question stands; what's this complicated case you needed my help so badly with? Why did you risk your life to find me?"</p><p>He exhaled, smoke puffing out of his mouth, and then took another drag.</p><p>She stared at the smoke as it dissipated and then grasped at Nate's wedding ring where it laid against her chest, tied there around her neck in a makeshift necklace of fishing line she'd found in the closet of their home after leaving the Vault months ago. Her fingers rubbed at the golden band for comfort. Nora had gotten into the habit of doing that a lot lately. </p><p>Then, with the cool, worn metal of the ring under her fingers, she told Nick Valentine everything.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>More time passed and she survived. With Nick's help, Nora thrived.</p><p>She left Fort Hagen with Kellogg's blood on her hands and his cybernetics stashed in her pocket. A memento of her victory. The conversation with Piper and Nick went smoothly after that and it only seemed to go smoothly from there. They were one step closer to finding Shaun. When they met up with Doctor Amari and Irma in the Memory Den later that week, she found that she couldn't admit to Nick that she'd taken it as a trophy of sorts rather than because she had thought it was useful- hell, she didn't remember how she'd gotten it out of him. </p><p>All she remembered was her anger, and how tired she was, how hungry and thirsty and how much she just wanted her baby back- and then there'd been blood and the robotics that helped keep Kellogg alive as long as he had been alive were in her palm, and she couldn't bare to look at the mess of him on the floor. </p><p>And yet- a thrill ran through her veins, and rather than setting the bloodied metal down... she kept it. </p><p>That bastard took everything from her. Let her take something from him. </p><p>After that, she had pushed the thought of the cybernetics she had taken out of her mind. She was almost to her son. She could feel it. There was no time to ponder her mentality or if perhaps she wasn't the same as she used to be.</p><p>It wasn't until just then, after everything had long been said and done, that Nora remembered what she had taken wasn't some sort of medal and she felt ashamed of herself.</p><p>It wasn't until that moment, as Doctor Amari, Nick, and her stood there (even after she got back from Fort Hagen and Nick made her take a week off after tending to her wounds, even after the conversation they'd had just last night with Piper and the long walk to Goodneighbor, even after Nick talked with her about the incident as they made their way there- somehow none of it jogged her memory like this did) that it struck her that the cybernetics she'd taken might be more useful than her tired, rageful mind had believed, despite that Nick and Piper brought up the possibility of using it to find the Institute - to find Shaun.</p><p>In the bowels of the Memory Den, as they spoke, an idea blossomed, and she pulled the forgotten remnants of her husband's killer free from her pocket at Doctor Amari's suggestion, hesitant to give it up but knowing she needed to. Nora watched as Nick's face flashed with surprise at the cybernetics in her hand, held out between them, when Doc Amari said they could plug it into him. And instead of a frown, a smile was found when Nora looked up and met his eyes. He agreed to the quick thinking of the Doc and he didn't get upset that she didn't chime in with another solution (besides a quick, "Will Nick be okay?"). Most of all, he still didn't question why she had taken the cybernetics from Kellogg in the first place (he hadn't even blinked when she told him she took them while they were at Piper's place) and how she'd even managed to do it.</p><p>Nick didn't hold an ounce of upset towards her in his mechanical heart. Just continued smiling that crooked smile of his and said that it was good that they could actually put Kellogg to use for once. </p><p>Guilt sat heavy in her gut and she couldn't bring herself to tell him she didn't know why she had taken them in the first place, just that she got a sick thrill from stealing something from him like he'd stolen something from her. At least now they knew how to get Shaun back.</p><p>The guilt didn't stop her from slipping the synthetic parts of Kellogg back into her pocket once it was over.</p><p>After all, it didn't hit her until that moment that it might be more useful to her than even Nick and Amari knew.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Three: Kellogg</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nora is more similar to Kellogg than she'd like.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>One more chapter for exposition and then we're diving into the main story!! I'm pretty excited for what's to come! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"><strong>Part One. Ante Mortem</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Chapter Three: Kellogg</strong></em>
</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>The first time Nora saw Shaun since he'd been taken from the vault was through Kellogg's memories. A fleeting glimpse of a young boy she couldn’t recognize, no matter how hard she tried, through the lens of his kidnapper. </p><p>Yet Kellogg didn’t think about him like his kidnapper, did he? Not really. He thought about the boy - no, he was Shaun, not just some boy, he was Shaun, damnit, not a stranger! - like he was his own son. </p><p>Kellogg felt like a father to Shaun. And here she was, a thief of the man’s memories and a mere apparition among his thoughts, observing while not really being, without the slightest feeling towards the boy who she knew was Shaun, her son. Her son. Not Kellogg’s.</p><p>She felt trapped. She felt so, so conflicted (she felt like she was Kellogg, not Nora- she could even hear his thoughts like they were hers and it was like they were one person, not two).</p><p>All she wanted was to turn back the clock to the happy little moments in their home, baby Shaun cradled to her chest and Nate standing by her side, a cup of coffee in his hand and a newspaper in the other as he leaned down to kiss her forehead then Shaun’s. She wanted her baby back so badly. </p><p>And she was so close to getting Shaun back.</p><p>And yet…</p><p>It hit her that her baby boy wasn’t really her baby boy anymore.</p><p>Shame hit her at the thought, but she knew it was true. </p><p>Did Shaun view Kellogg as a father? Would he hate her just for her murder of the merc? Did he know that Kellogg shot his actual father?</p><p>Too many thoughts. Too many worries.</p><p>She just wanted Sanctuary back.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>The ghost of the man she’d killed haunted her. She knew he would stay with her for as long as she lived. </p><p>He was persistent like that. As persistent as he said she was. </p><p>After she stepped out of Kellogg’s memory, he was there to greet her with a vengeance she felt would burn her.</p><p>He spoke to her.</p><p>He spoke through Nick, and she felt uneasy at his gravelly voice coming out of the detective’s mouth, as low and rough as she remembered (“At least we still have the backup.”), so awful that she wanted to cringe away, "Hope you got what you were looking for inside my head. Heh. I was right. Should've killed you when you were on ice."</p><p>It was wrong. It sounded so wrong. His voice didn’t belong there, within Nick Valentine, the smooth-drawled, calming man she’d grown to trust through their mutual hardships.</p><p>But it was over just like that. His voice faded from her Synth friend and it didn’t come back.</p><p>Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still with her. A constant presence to torment her for what she did.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Nora grit her teeth so hard they hurt. The Glowing Sea was treacherous. She knew she would die if she continued on as she was. She had to turn back. Damnit, she just had to, even if she didn’t like that she had to. She would grapple as many Deathclaws as it took to reach Virgil, for fucksake! </p><p>But- she sighed - she couldn’t do anything if she was dead, so she steeled her nerves and pushed back the dismay, then she patched herself up as best she could, cursing all the while, and soon enough she was in good enough shape to go.</p><p>She left.</p><p>This wasn’t the last time she would be under those poisonous green skies. Nora swore she would be ready next time.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Nick held the case notes close. He was serious. More serious than usual.</p><p>“What is it?” she’d asked.</p><p>“Ellie wrote some case notes while we were out. An old friend needs my help. His name’s Kenji Nakano. I haven’t heard from him in a long time.” he said, and he looked troubled.</p><p>Nora took the case notes from him. It would still be a while yet before she could go back to the Glowing Sea. And Nick had promised to go with, help her stay safe amid the radiation and the company of deadly creatures (or at least more deadly than usual). The least she could do was help ease his mind with this.</p><p>She smiled at him, “Then how about we go see what’s going on? We can head out in the morning.”</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Kenji Nakano was desperate. Nora felt his pain. His daughter - Kasumi - was missing. She accepted his plea in a heartbeat. </p><p>It didn’t take long for their search around the beachhouse to bring forward just what was going on. Kasumi couldn’t remember her childhood at all. She thought she was a Synth and so she set out to unveil the truth (Nora understood what drove her- after all, what could she remember of her own life?).</p><p>Kenji led her and Nick to the boat.</p><p>They were setting sail for a place called Far Harbor. </p><p>She prayed it wouldn’t be much harder surviving there than it already was here in the Commonwealth.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>“One more question, if you’ll indulge me,” DiMA said to her, “You’re here for Kasumi, but I suspect there could be another reason you came to us.”</p><p>There was a long pause as he let that sink in. He didn’t wait for her to respond.</p><p>DiMA’s intent eyes never strayed from her as he spoke, so fucking monotone yet somehow so peaceful and so kind at the same time (how did he do that?), “Tell me. Are you a Synth? I know it may seem impossible that you could be, but take a moment to think about this; what’s the first thing you remember?”</p><p>The day the bombs fell. She’d thought about it for many hours before, in the ruins of the world from that fateful day, crouched and fearful in the dark at whatever might lurk nearby, waiting to strike and eat her alive.</p><p>Doubt sunk in further in that moment.</p><p>She could only remember that day.</p><p>That single day.</p><p>Wasn’t that strange?</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Nora was tired when they left The Island and Far Harbor behind, but at least they left with what they went there for: Kasumi.</p><p>It was heartwarming to see her reunited with her parents. </p><p>And despite everything, despite the smiles and the hugs and the thank yous as they left, there was still that thought in the back of her mind - that nagging thought - that DiMA coaxed to life again, and she can’t help but feel unsatisfied with how things were.</p><p>So on the journey home, to the little yet cozy Valentine’s Detective Agency in Diamond City (where Ellie and Nick made a home for her - with her - through their friendship and an old mattress they dragged upstairs while she was still out at the Dugout Inn), Nora opened up to Nick about her doubts.</p><p>And she was so, so glad she had.</p><p>It was refreshing. <em> He </em>was refreshing.</p><p>Nick was a detective, after all, and he always seemed to have all the solutions.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>With Nick’s reassurance, they headed to the Mega Surgery Center. </p><p>It cost 200 caps to find out she was part Synth (there were little metal bits in her, super easy to find with Nick’s two cents and with what little they found out about the cybernetics they’d looked over from Kellogg - they knew where some of them would’ve been at in Kellogg through their functions - and hers were so much like his that she felt uncomfortable at the thought).</p><p>It cost an extra hundred to keep Doc Sun quiet (there was no way she was letting the residents of Diamond City know she was part Synth with all that paranoia about the Institute going around- that would just be asking for someone to put a bullet or two in her head).</p><p>Nora was more like Kellogg than she thought (biologically- physically- whatever being part synth and part human meant- like hell would she say they were alike in any other way). With that coming to the forefront of her mind, and the longing to see her baby again, she made up her mind. </p><p>If Nick could connect to his memories, then surely she could too.</p><p>Now all she had to do was convince someone to help her out (and it sure as hell wouldn’t be Nick- he would never agree to that).</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>She found someone. 200 more caps to throw into this whole thing, but it would be worth it in the end (she didn’t even have to bribe him to keep quiet either- he was a Synth, too).</p><p>A little into the process and she knew she’d been right about that.</p><p>Nora got to see memories of her baby growing up.</p><p>Though it kind of sucked that she felt like Kellogg was still with her, even after the cybernetics were removed. She honestly should’ve seen that one coming, after he spoke through Nick, but she couldn’t find it in herself to give a fuck. He didn’t stay with Nick, Nick hadn’t been aware that it’d happened, and for some reason it was the opposite with her (maybe it had something to do with how similar their cybernetics looked? It was still weird to think about - she didn’t really like to think about it), but she got to see Shaun.</p><p>And Shaun was worth any cost.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Four: Lost (then Found)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The end. And the start of a new beginning.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The next chapter marks the start of the Predator/Fallout fusion. :)</p><p>Nora's having a bit of a rough time.</p><p>WARNING!: In this chapter, there is character death.</p><p>Graphic depiction of violence is also here (it's not very graphic exactly, it doesn't really go into too much detail, but if violence or death disturb you please don't read this, because I'm broaching those subjects slightly).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Part One. Ante Mortem</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b> <em>Chapter Four: Lost (then Found)</em> </b>
</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>When Nora found Shaun, she felt disconnected; it felt like she was just watching everything unfold and she didn’t have anything to do with it. She was a bystander. It didn’t spark in her brain that he was Shaun. It didn’t spark. Because he couldn’t be Shaun. Her baby couldn’t be the man standing in front of her. He was old. Not her baby. Not even a kid. Damnit, he was old enough to be her own father! And how fitting that was, with the moniker he now held: Father of the Institute. She felt like their roles were reversed.</p><p>It made her uncomfortable, staring at this elderly man who was once Shaun and was now Father, who looked just as disconnected from her as she felt toward him.</p><p>Nora wanted to turn back. At this point she didn’t care if it was to Sanctuary (to the Sanctuary from before, when everything still seemed to make sense- the Sanctuary that was frozen in time in her mind, untouched by nuclear devastation) or to the new home she’d made in the ruins of the old. </p><p>She would take anything besides this mindfuckery. </p><p>She’d take that old, springy bed in Valentine’s Detective Agency that she said she didn’t like because it gave her a stiff back but loved because her newfound family got it for her.</p><p>She’d take running cases with Nick ‘til she felt like dropping from exhaustion, the hunger pains and thirst of the first week outside the vault, the late nights up with Ellie over cups of coffee that left an aftertaste in their mouths and the bitter feeling that everything was wrong and different than before (though Nora wouldn’t admit that to Ellie- the kindly secretary made her that coffee out of the goodness of her heart and Nora felt silly that coffee of all things made her think this way. It was one of the only things she could remember from before that she could compare now to, but it felt laughable when she realized she was complaining over a luxury; coffee wasn’t as important as shelter or their food or their water), and the harsh gossip and paranoia of Diamond City.</p><p>Nora would take anything over this. Anything over her baby looking at her with cold, uncaring eyes, like she was a stranger to him (though she supposed she was, wasn’t she? The last she’d seen him was when he was a year old).</p><p>She knew she couldn’t turn back time, but she longed to do just that. Hell, at this point maybe she didn’t even want to turn back time to Sanctuary, she didn’t care to return to the normalcy of life before the fallout. She didn’t want to undo the family she found among the rubble of Boston. She just wished that she could undo what she’d learned. Her son, her baby boy, was a grown man, older than even her, and he was in charge of the boogeymen of the Commonwealth- The Institute. It hurt to think about.</p><p>Despite how much she wanted to leave this madness behind, she didn’t.</p><p>She stayed.</p><p>And later, months after meeting Father, she learned that he was the one to open her cryopod the day she escaped. He hadn’t even expected her to live once she had.</p><p>“I’ll admit, when I had you released from Vault 111, I had no expectations that you’d survive out here, in all this.” he’d said, and it had been matter-of-fact, no upset in his voice whatsoever.</p><p>Those words stung even more than the rest of this mess of a situation.</p><p>He had no expectations that she would survive. <em> None </em>.</p><p>And Nora almost hadn’t. But she’d soldiered on, <em> for him</em>, and then she had made it to Diamond City.</p><p>That was the main turning point in her life in the Wastes. When she got to the front gates, that’s where she met the first of her de facto family, Piper (dressed only in her torn vault suit and looking like she’d gone through hell- and she <em> had </em> gone through hell). She’d followed the signs to get there. The “You’re almost home,” hit just as the “Welcome home,” had in the vault; it wasn’t until later that she realized just how true that sign came to be, unlike the one in Vault 111.</p><p>Piper was curious about her from the beginning, and at first it wasn’t something she was too keen on, but despite her questions she was kind. Piper was a good person. The reporter gave Nora a few survival lessons after she got an interview about the vault (“Blue, you really seem out of your depth here. I can’t in good conscience leave you to fend out there by yourself.  Let me show you a few things. I don’t know much, but I know enough to squeeze by.”), then she gave her a stimpak (“You look like you need it more than me.”) and told her to check out Valentine’s Detective Agency if she wanted to actually find her boy- Diamond City security wouldn’t help, Piper told her they never did.</p><p>After she spoke with Piper, she met Ellie at the Detective Agency, and then she saved Nick from some raiders (“Looks like you’re my knight in shining armour, hm? I love the irony of the reverse damsel-in-distress scenario. Question is, why did our heroine risk life and limb for an old private eye?”) - and they formed a family of their own. It was tough at times, but the Wall kept them safe, and they worked together to get by. </p><p>They were the reason she survived.</p><p>And Shaun - <em> Father </em>- hadn’t even thought she would live, hadn’t cared that she might die in the Wastes. She was a stranger to him.</p><p>He was also a stranger to her.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Shaun was going to die.</p><p>He told her there was nothing to do about it. The doctor treating him at the Institute told her there was nothing to do about it.</p><p>Somehow, she found herself torn between heavy grief and relief. Her baby was dying. But at the same time the tyrannical, cold, uncaring stranger that ruled the Institute would be leaving with him. In a way, she had already lost her baby once. It hurt like hell that it was happening again, but somehow she also felt that it was something that had to happen for the Commonwealth to be at peace (or at least as at peace as it could be with the dangers that came with nuclear fallout).</p><p>She was disgusted with herself for that. What sort of mother was she?</p><p>Nora tried not to think about that too much.</p><p>The Railroad said that the Institute had to go down with him if they really wanted to achieve that peace.</p><p>They came up with a plan to do just that, all they needed was her help.</p><p>She knew what had to be done.</p><p>This was for the sake of her new home. The sake of the family she found.</p><p>Shaun was dying. She wasn’t killing him.</p><p>Nora wasn’t killing her baby.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Shaun - no, not Shaun, <em> Father </em> now, Nora reminded herself - stared at her in silent anger, tears gathering in his eyes, barely there but there nonetheless. He looked different than usual. Different from that uncaring Institute leader she’d come to know the past few months. He seemed more like her son. More like Shaun. </p><p>Father looked resigned. He looked betrayed. She didn’t want to look him in the eyes, but she forced herself to.</p><p>“I’m sorry it’s come to this, Shaun.” Nora said, “I really am.”</p><p>She was.</p><p>“You’re sorry? You can’t be that sorry, if you’re going through with it. Don’t lie to me, please. You’re just making a fool of us both.” Shaun said, his voice still low and calm despite everything. Despite her. And yet there was another tone to it now. Sadness.</p><p>What the fuck was she doing? She couldn’t do this. Not to her baby.</p><p>But she had to. It was too late to turn back now.</p><p>“It’s not enough that I lay here, dying... “ he said, and there was more sadness now than before, more anger. He was talking to her with his heart bared for once, the only time he had done so to her so openly, and it was as he lay on his deathbed, “Now you plan on- on- what? Destroying everything? All I’ve worked for? I’ve spent my entire life building this. What right do you have to take it away? Tell me, under what righteous pretense have you justified this atrocity?”</p><p>“It’s the only way,” she tried to explain, desperation clawing its way up her throat, “it’s the only way to keep the Commonwealth safe. I’m sorry, Shaun. I can’t let the Institute hurt anyone anymore.”</p><p>“Spare me. You’ve spent time up there. You know as well as I that it’s doomed. The only chance of humanity surviving lies with the Institute.” his eyes narrowed at her, and after a moment’s pause he gave her a bitter smile, “Well, none of that matters now, I suppose. You’ll accomplish your task and ruin humanity’s best hope for the future. The only question left, then, is why you’re standing here. Is it regret, or did you come to gloat?”</p><p>Nora couldn’t bring herself to answer, words caught in her throat.</p><p>Shaun looked intently at her, as if trying to read her mind, then seemed to notice her distress, and he sighed, “Regret then. No matter. There’s no changing what you’ve already put into motion. There’s nothing more to accomplish here. Now go. Just… leave me.”</p><p>Nora felt the tears before she realized she’d started crying. She stepped up to his bedside.</p><p>“No, there is something,” she said, and she raised the barrel of her gun to his head,” I’m sorry, Shaun.”</p><p>His eyes widened, but she had already pulled the trigger.</p><p>He didn’t have time to react. No time to speak or to lift his hands. He couldn’t stop it. It was too late.</p><p>Oh, god.</p><p>Nora felt like throwing up. Her hands shook and she let the gun drop to her side. They continued to shake as she pulled the blanket up to cover Shaun’s face.</p><p>She felt the splatter of blood drying on her face.</p><p>She didn’t kill her baby. He was already dying. He was already suffering. It was for the best.</p><p>She took a moment, kneeling beside his bed, her hands white-knuckled and shaking as they gripped the excess blanket tightly, her face downturned as she sobbed.</p><p>Nora didn’t kill her baby. She didn’t kill him.</p><p>She didn’t.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>Nora left Shaun’s side puffy-eyed and still very distraught. She had to finish what she started.</p><p>As she passed through the Institute, battle waged around her, furious and deadly, gunshots ringing loud in the air alongside screams and the smell of smoke.</p><p>It didn’t take long to reach the reactor with the Railroad’s help. There weren’t that many distractions and everyone was too busy fighting to even notice her besides a few that were shot down just as fast as they showed up. </p><p>It was quick work to rig it to explode. All it took was a fusion pulse charge on the core and it was set to blow once it was activated via the detonator back at Mass Fusion. She had to hurry back if she was to make it in time for the return trip. They wouldn’t wait for much longer. If they wanted the Institute gone for good, they couldn’t risk any survivors. Every railroad agent knew that. Nora knew that, too. It was just that simple. If they weren’t there on time, they would go down with the enemy. </p><p>If she wasn’t, she would go down with the Institute, too. </p><p>They would leave without her if she didn’t get there when they were set to teleport back, just as they would anyone else. They would detonate the reactor regardless if she was there or not, because that was what they had to do. It didn’t matter how much help she gave to the Railroad. Didn’t matter that she was the one to give them this opportunity in the first place. Nora wasn’t as important to them as the destruction of the Institute. She didn’t blame them. They were looking to keep the entire Commonwealth safe, not just her. They wanted to protect their friends, their families, and themselves. If she had to be sacrificed, then they would sacrifice her. Whether they liked it or not. </p><p>That was simply the way it was. They weren’t meaning to be cruel. They were just desperate.</p><p>The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all.</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>When she looked for Desdemona, she wasn’t there. What was going on? She couldn’t find her way out. She thought back to the time she spent by Shaun’s bedside. Had she spent too long there? </p><p>She got the bomb in place in time, but apparently she hadn’t gotten herself where she was needed in time.</p><p>Nora felt panicked, but forced herself to stay calm. If she hurried, she still might make it.</p><p>She ran but it was no use.</p><p>There were bodies strewn everywhere and she stumbled over them in her haste, but she knew it was for naught. She knew she wouldn’t get there in time.</p><p>Nora made her way back to Shaun’s room. If this was it, she would be at her son’s side. She closed her eyes and grabbed her son’s hand, squeezing it tight. It was already cold in her grasp and she cried, surprised she had any tears left to give. She did this. What had the point of this been? Why had she done it? She hoped Nick, Ellie, and Piper would forgive her. </p><p>She hoped that Shaun had forgiven her in the end.</p><p>“I’m sorry it turned out this way, Shaun. I really am. I love you, son.”</p><p>She felt the nuclear fire engulf her and it burned, and it burned,</p><p>a n d  i t b  u r n e d-</p><p>〘✯〙</p><p>And it burned-</p><p>And then it didn’t.</p><p>Nora opened her eyes to sunlight. She opened her eyes to green grass under her. So, so, so green and bright and healthy that she could cry; it wasn’t withered at all- it wasn’t dead. She opened her eyes to fluffy clouds overhead.</p><p>Her mind was a mess of nuclear fire and of Shaun and of the perfection around her.</p><p>Nora opened her eyes to a new world.</p><p>To paradise.</p><p>And, oh, she was so tired. So damn tired. She’d have a nap. Just a little nap. She smiled and let herself drift back to sleep.</p>
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